


Hands

by magicalpaganini (heartsflush)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Original Character-centric, Temporary Character Death, julian/apprentice is there but it's extremely minimal so i'm not tagging it, post-book xiii
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 09:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15167792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsflush/pseuds/magicalpaganini
Summary: The feeling of their hand in his is something Girard will always remember.Contains spoilers for Book XIII - Death.





	Hands

**Author's Note:**

> hi i made myself happy, then sad, then happy while writing this
> 
> girard is a new boy and i love him very much

Girard fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt with one hand. One of his mothers held the other as they waited in front of a bright red door. A sign saying “Welcome” and another word he didn’t recognize hung on the door.

“Mama?” Girard said, tugging on his mother’s hand and pointing to the unfamiliar word. “What does that say?”

His mother smiled. “It says ‘Wilkommen’, sweetie. Remember, our new neighbors are from another country, so it’s probably a word in their language.”

Girard nodded, then returned his attention to his shirt.

Moments later, the door opened, catching Girard’s attention. In front of him stood a woman with short, greying red hair and a warm, comforting smile. His mothers began talking to her, but Girard noticed a child about his age poking their head out from behind the woman. He gave them a small wave, and they blinked owlishly at him before shyly waving back.

The woman who answered the door laughed, catching Girard’s attention. “Are you making friends, schatzi?” she asked, turning to the child. “Come out and say hello.”

The child hesitated, then took a cautious step out from behind their mother. They had the same red hair as their mother (minus the grey streaks) and bright green eyes. “Hello,” they greeted in a shaky voice. “My name is Alexis.”

Girard gave them a toothy grin, showing off the gap from a recently lost tooth. “I’m Girard.”

Alexis giggled, and their mother leaned down to ruffle their hair. “Do you want to show Girard the toys Vati made for you?” she asked. Alexis’s eyes widened and they nodded vigorously.

Their mother smoothed out their hair and said, “Then show him the way to the playroom. We’ll call you when food is ready.”

Alexis nodded again, then grabbed Girard’s hand. “Follow me!” they exclaimed, pulling Girard through the door. Over the sound of his feet on the hardwood floor, he heard the sound of his mothers’ laughter.

 

Girard bounced on the balls of his feet nervously outside the nurse’s office of his small school. From inside, he could hear the nurse lecturing Alexis about “not getting into fights” and “keeping our hands and feet to ourselves”. He laughed to himself, knowing that Alexis wouldn’t listen.

After a short lull in the conversation, the door swung open, and Alexis ran out and turned to face Girard. They held a small, cloth-wrapped pack of ice to their eye, and they gave him a big smile. “All better!”

The nurse sighed. “Girard, you may walk Alexis back to your classroom now. Please make sure they don’t cause any more trouble.”

“Yes, sir,” Girard replied. The nurse smiled and closed the door, and Girard winked at Alexis. “Never said we wouldn’t find any,” he whispered, taking Alexis’s hand as they giggled softly.

They began to walk through the hallway to the classroom, neither saying anything. After a bit, Girard stopped and turned to Alexis. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

Alexis tilted their head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my best friend.”

Girard blushed a little bit. “I mean, yeah, but Merrick’s a big kid. You could’ve gotten really hurt.”

“He may be a big kid, but he’s also a big weenie!” Alexis replied. “And no big weenie gets to pick on my friend!”

Girard laughed. “What if someone who wasn’t a big weenie tried to pick on me?”

“I’d fuck ‘em up!”

“Shhhhh, a teacher might hear you!”

Alexis laughed. “Anyway, the point is I’ll always stand up for you, weenie or not.”

Girard smiled as they kept walking.

“I’d do the same for you.”

 

Alexis’s hand grasped Girard’s tightly as they ran through the alleys and streets away from the city square. Behind them, the voices of guards rang out, as well as that of one very disgruntled and soaking wet nobleman. Girard ducked into a side street, pulling Alexis along with him, and pressed his back to the wall as the guards ran past.   
“Why am I always running away from your messes?” Girard whispered, out of breath.

Alexis grinned at him. “Cause you know all the best hiding places. Besides, you can’t say that Baron Fussypants’s face when I threw that balloon wasn’t hilarious.”

Girard stifled a laugh. “What will your mother say?”

“I don’t know, but Vati will say it’s just ‘normal teenager things’, I’m sure,” Alexis replied. “He’s pretty chill.”

“Well, in case he’s not, why don’t we go to my house?” Girard asked. “Mama will scold us, for sure, but hers won’t be worse than your mom’s. Plus, Mother’ll fondly remember _her_ teenage years, and then it’ll be a whole thing…”

Girard trailed off, a smile forming on his face. “I think they’re making their meat pie tonight.”

Alexis gasped. “You had me at meat pie--”

_“ALEXIS LOUISA HOLZKNECHT!”_

The pair turned to see Alexis’s mother at the end of the alley, shopping bags in hand. Alexis let out a small curse, then wasted no time in sprinting in the opposite direction. Letting out a shout as he was tugged along, Girard followed, hoping they could catch his mother in a good mood.

 

A soft breeze drifted over Girard’s body as he lay in the grass next to Alexis. Their gaze was pointed skyward, eyes trying to find every star in the evening sky. Between them, their hands were clasped together, fingers intertwined and knuckles tickled by the grass. A comfortable silence hung in the air around them, and the sky was painted a luxurious purple.

“I’m going to Vesuvia,” Alexis spoke, breaking the silence.

Girard blinked in surprise, then sat up and turned to face them. “What?”

Alexis sat up to meet his gaze. “What I just said. I’m going to Vesuvia.”

“Why?” Girard asked, positioning his hand so it lay over theirs again.

They sighed. “My aunt has a magic shop there. It’s the only place I can learn it. My parents...aren’t happy.”

Alexis looked away, and Girard’s gaze fell to their hands. One played with the grass nervously, and the other tensed under his. He gave it a soft squeeze. “You can do it.”

They looked at him in surprise. “What?”

“I said, you can do it.” Girard inched closer to Alexis, squeezing their hand again. “You want to develop new magic, right? With your violin? If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Alexis bit their lip, hand tensing again. “Okay.”

Girard smiled softly, then pulled them into a hug. Alexis gasped, then hesitated, then threw their arms around him. “I’m gonna miss you, though,” they said against his shoulder.

“I’ll miss you too,” Girard replied, hugging them tighter. “But your dreams are more important than me.”

“Don’t say that.” Alexis pulled back suddenly, frowning at him. “You’re my best friend, Girard. You were there for me when I had nobody else. You’ll always be important to me.”

Girard rubbed at his eyes, then smiled. “Just...don’t forget me, okay?”

Alexis smiled back.

“I could never forget you.”

 

It was devastating to hear that they died.

Their mother shared the news with him at a late hour, her eyes red from crying and lack of sleep. He didn’t know how to react as it registered that he would never again see their bright, curious eyes or their confident smile.

Never again feel the comforting warmth of their hand in his.

He didn’t leave his house for days after he’d learned of their passing. It took a year at least for him to gain back even part of the sense of self he’d lost; if he’d always been half of a pair with them, what was he without them?

Now, as he wandered through the crowds of the Masquerade, Girard thought about them. He’d debated endlessly over whether or not he should go, and in the end decided to make the trip to Vesuvia and try to have some fun. But despite the lavish scene surrounding him, all he could think of was how much Alexis would enjoy it.

Girard closed his eyes, pushing back tears. When he opened them again, he looked around at the luxuriously-dressed couples walking past him in the hallway. As he turned his gaze to the end of the hallway, one pair caught his eye. A tall, messy-haired man with an eyepatch and…

“Alexis!”

The name escaped his mouth before he could stop it, and he was running toward them before he knew what his feet were doing.

They stuck out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of fanciful dresses and suits. Their clothes were covered in some substance of a color resembling ash, and their long red hair was hastily pulled back into its signature braid. But as their eyes met his and widened in recognition, he noticed that their inquisitive green hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Their hands flew to their mouth as they gasped.

“Girard!”

Alexis practically flew into his arms as they met in the middle of the hallway, and Girard held them tight. The tears he’d held back before flowed into Alexis’s shoulder, wetting their sleeve, but he didn’t care and neither did they.

“I thought you died,” he cried, his voice shaking.

“Well, I did,” they replied through a sniffle. “But I came back. Somehow. It’s complicated, I think. I’m still working out the details on that one--”

Girard laughed, interrupting them. He pulled away and brushed a stray hair from their face. “Somehow I knew you’d say something like that.”

Alexis grinned at him through tears of their own. “I make everything complicated. Surely you know this by now, right?”

“If over twenty years of knowing you hasn’t taught me that, nothing will.” Girard pulled them back into another hug, sighing contentedly. “Don’t die again without warning me first, promise?”

Alexis held him tightly, nodding into his shoulders. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I hate to break up this extremely touching reunion,” the tall man accompanying Alexis spoke up cautiously, “but we’ve kind of got some pressing trouble, Alexis.”

Alexis pulled away and nodded, sighing disappointedly. Then, an idea flashed in their eyes. Girard smiled widely at the familiar sight; he’d seen it many times before they dragged him into one of their exciting messes.

“Speaking of trouble…” they mused, looking up at Girard. “Do you want to get into some?” they asked, their signature mischievous grin spreading on their face.

Girard laughed. “Is this ‘trip to the nurse’s office’ trouble or ‘running from city guards’ trouble?”

“If I had to pick,” Alexis answered, placing a hand to their chin, “I’d say it’s nurse’s office, but like, a thousand times worse.”

“So ‘your mother using your full name’ trouble.”

“Exactly. You in?”

Girard reached out; their hand met his halfway.

“Always.”


End file.
